Wildlife tracker

Welcome to the WWF Global Arctic Programme’s wildlife tracker.

Since 2013, WWF has been collaborating with researchers to showcase polar bear movements across the Arctic. It shows the incredible distances some bears travel as well as the relationship between polar bears and sea ice.

While only polar bears tracks are available on the tracker right now, we hope to showcase other Arctic animals in the future.

For now, enjoy exploring stories, wildlife cameras, and watching where and how far these bears can travel.

How to use the wildlife tracker

1. Calendar

Select a timespan you would like to explore. The default is the previous three months.

2. Animals

Choose to view all animals or selected animals in the chosen timespan.

3. Play animation

Press play to watch how the animals and sea ice have moved over time.

Layers

Select which layers you would like to display. By default, all layers are displayed; sea ice extent, stories, cameras in the wild and animal tracks.

Sea ice extent

Updated monthly. Data is from the US-based National Snow and Ice Data Center.

Stories

Discover stories about Arctic wildlife and communities.

Cameras in the wild

Cameras livestreaming wildlife from the Arctic.

Animal tracks

View animal tracks based on the available data.

FAQ

Who provides the Wildlife Tracker GPS data?
Since 2013, WWF has been collaborating with scientists tracking polar bears for research purposes.

The Norwegian Polar Institute researchers (John Aars and Magnus Andersen) provide data for the Svalbard bears.

Environment and Climate Change Canada and the University of Alberta provides data for the Western Hudson Bay bears.
Why do researchers track polar bear movements?
To inform management and conservation actions for polar bears, we need the best available information.

Both Svalbard and Western Hudson Bay—bears featured on the Wildlife Tracker— have benefited from long-term tracking research programmes. Researchers consider the information gained from satellite tracking to have made extremely valuable contributions to management and conservation of polar bears in the last several decades. To continue to make effective choices for polar bear conservation, scientists say that research should continue.
What has GPS data taught us about polar bears and climate change?
Much of the science about how polar bears are responding to the dramatic loss of their sea ice habitat comes from multi-decade-long research programs that include satellite tracking.

For example, tracking of polar bears on Svalbard shows that some previously important denning sites on islands can no longer be reached by polar bears mothers because the sea ice connection forms too late in Autumn. Instead, polar bears must swim hundreds of kilometres of open water to reach those sites.

In Western Hudson Bay, the declining subpopulation of polar bears is being pushed closer to the edge. Sea ice melt has extended these bears’ fasting period over summer months. A combination of GPS tracking and wearable cameras revealed that while some bears rested and conserved energy, others roamed, snacking on land-based food sources. Nevertheless, all ultimately lost weight at similar rates.
What is the source of the Arctic sea ice extent data?
Arctic sea ice extent data is sourced from the National Snow and Ice Data Center’s monthly sea ice extent resource. Sea ice extent displayed is the median extent for that month. Data is obtained from this page each month.

On the sea ice extent layer, what do the different colours represent?
White = sea ice
Blue = water
Yellow = missing data points
How do researchers collect GPS data from polar bears?
To track polar bears, scientists need to locate, temporarily sedate, and fit the polar bear with a GPS tracker. Historically, trackers have been a collar carefully around the polar bear’s neck. To remove the collar, devices are designed to either corrode and fall off or researchers can locate the bear and remove the collar manually.

New technologies, the in the form of ear tags and fur burs, have also been developed.

Periodically, the collar beams the bear’s geographic location up to a satellite and the satellite beams it back down to a researcher’s computer.
Why is it important to study polar bear movements over time?
Over time—weeks, months or even over a year—a detailed picture about the movements of that bear emerges. If multiple bears from the same subpopulation wear tracking devices at the same time, their movements can be compared. Patterns start to form. Over multiple years, scientists build an idea, supported by data, of how bears live in that part of the Arctic. Over decades, tracking information can be used to paint a comprehensive portrait of how polar bears are coping with climate change.